Goðafoss

Goðafoss is the easiest waterfall stop on the whole Ring Road: the river Skjálfandafljót passes under the road, the car parks are on either bank beside the bridge, and the viewpoints are a few minutes' walk. It sits almost exactly between Akureyri and Mývatn, about 45 minutes from each, which is why it is a leg-stretch on that leg rather than a destination.

Twenty minutes covers one bank; 45 minutes covers both, crossing the road bridge on foot. The east bank has the fuel station, shop and café; the west bank has the quieter, higher view. Quiet early and late; the mid-morning and mid-afternoon waves are the coaches between Akureyri and Mývatn, and the cruise days at Akureyri can double them.

The practical line: a fuel station and shop at the east-bank junction with toilets; the operator could not be confirmed on a station map today, so treat it as a top-up and not a planned fill. No official page for parking could be reached today, so the price band is left as "check": the falls themselves have no admission charge, and any car-park fee is on the sign.

Safety: the east-bank steps to the water are wet rock, the west-bank path runs along an unfenced edge that ices from October, and the river below the falls is fast and cold. Keep to the marked paths and keep children back from the lip. There is no barrier where the gravel meets the drop on the west side.

Westbound, this is the last thing before Akureyri's traffic; eastbound it is the sign that the lake is close.